


Rivers of Red

by skyewqrd (orphan_account)



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Bucky Barnes, BAMF Natasha Romanov, BAMF Peter Parker, But they are also little shits, F/M, Gen, Hydra Peter Parker, Peter Parker Meets the Avengers, Please Don't Kill Me, The Avengers Are Good Bros, very angsty, winterwidow - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 23:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22768399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/skyewqrd
Summary: Peter isn’t a normal 16 year old teenager. In fact, Peter isn’t even close to normal.As the child of the Winter Soldier and one of the deadliest Black Widows to ever have existed, Peter has a lot to live up to in the dark, dark world of secrets, lies, and assassins.One day, something changes Peter’s life forever.The Avengers rescue him from HYDRA’s evil clutches on a mission. But after they all become one big, happy, dysfunctional family, something happens that shakes their metaphorical sidewalks and buildings to the core.And that’s when Peter realizes that there are some things worth dying for.Rated Teen for *Cap’s voice* language! (Honestly it’s the Avengers, what did you expect?)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 28
Kudos: 230





	1. Chapter 1

_Pain._

That’s all Peter had known for the whole of his sixteen years of life. Honestly, even calling it life was one hell of a stretch. It was more of a midpoint between life and death. Every mission and every kill Peter completed tore a bit more of his humanity from him, and every day, he became more and more like his post-brainwashing father. 

Of course, his father had always retained his memories a few days after the initial washing, but Peter wasn’t like his dad.  
His father was the formidable Winter Soldier with an astounding 412 kills. Peter was different. Peter was weak. When HYDRA washed him, it would take a week or so for Peter to remember again. He was pathetic, he was soft, he was--

And then his head resurfaced, and Peter remembered where he was. He was in a secure HYDRA bunker somewhere under Siberia, and was currently being waterboarded as a part of his “torture routine.” That was the cost of not listening to his insufferable asshat of a handler, Zemo.

And with one final, wild gasp of air, his head was submerged again.

HYDRA allowed him very minimal use of the internet so that he could keep up with current events and leaders so that he could track and kill easily, but sometimes he managed to catch glimpses of “regular articles” when the HYDRA goons weren’t looking. Peter faintly recalled seeing an article that said that people thought straighter when underwater.

Funny, Peter thought. He assumed that the people who had written that article had never been waterboarded before.

The only thing that Peter thought of underwater was his past, most of which was not a very pleasant thing to remember.

The truth was, Peter didn’t even remember most of it. Just his father, who had been killed by Captain America, the Falcon, and that traitor Widow on that _stupid fucking mission_ in D.C. two years ago. Peter didn’t remember his mother either. He had been taken from her long ago and the only thing that he knew about her was that she had been trained as a Widow. The whispers said that she had hair like fire, eyes like emeralds, and she fought like a demon. She was the pride of the Red Room, and Peter’s father had been the pride of HYDRA. So when they broke the rules and started a forbidden romance and a child came out of it, HYDRA just had to take Peter. 

And take him they did. They ripped him from his mother and they injected him with a serum. A serum that gave him spider-like powers. He could stick to walls, had super-strength and endurance, was extremely agile, and had a sixth sense that warned him of danger.

HYDRA had been relatively nice to him when he was little, feeding him often because of his enhanced metabolism, and never beating him or causing him physical harm.

But that all changed when Peter turned six. When he turned six, he was thrown into a cell with his father— HYDRA had at least been nice enough to let him be with his dad— and told that his only purpose in life was to help HYDRA eradicate the world of the “worms that were infecting society.”

And that’s where he still was now, helping HYDRA carry out their evil schemes, not that Peter even had the choice.

Peter’s horrific reliving of his nightmarish history was cut off when he started to run out of oxygen. He turned and thrashed, trying to break loose from the agent holding him down, to no avail.

He finally started to choke, and Zemo gave the order to release him, thinking that Peter had learned his lesson. Peter was dragged to his cell and thrown to the ground, and the cell door ground closed with a final sounding bang.

He coughed some of the water left in his lungs out and promptly fell unconscious.

* * *

_Peter was now six. His young, naive self expected to be treated differently, as it was his special day. And in a way, it was a special day._

_But not in the way that Peter expected. He had been given a simple, black long-sleeved shirt and long pants and told to put them on. He had been prodded along a hallway by two guards until they came to a stop right in front of a cell. The cell door_ _ground opened, and Peter was roughly shoved in. He fell to the floor._

_However, the cell wasn’t empty. There was a man in the cell, whom Peter had landed next to, who was also wearing all black. Instead of Peter’s simple ensemble, though, it was more of a HYDRA style suit, leather- looking and bulletproof, with multiple buckles and holsters that Peter assumed were for knives and guns. But most astonishingly, to Peter, was the fact that the man had a metal arm.  
_

_One of the guards that had brought him to the_ _cell spat, in Russian, “He’s your brat. You are responsible for training him, starting tomorrow.”  
_

_As the guards left, the man’s head suddenly snapped up. “Peter?” He whispered, in awe and shock._

_“Yeah, that’s me,” Peter responded, then asked, “why am I here, and how do you know my name?”_

_The man hesitated, before slowly answering, “You-you’re my son. The place where we are is a facility in an organization called HYDRA. They use people to do horrible things. And they want me to train you so that you can help them, too.”_

_Peter started tremb_ ling _as tears pooled in his eyes. “But they said that they would keep me safe, and they— they promised that they wouldn’t hurt me!”_

_Smiling sadly, the man answered, “HYDRA isn’t good, Peter. Our lives are hard, and there are going to be people who tell lies to hurt you. I’m going to train you on how to protect yourself from them.”_

_Peter nodded._

_A moment of silence passed, and Peter inched closer to his dad._

_“Dad?”_

_“Yes, Peter?”_

_“Is mom here too?”_

_“She— she isn’t. HYDRA separated us. You have heard of the Red Room Widow program, yes?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“That’s where she was trained. The Red Room and HYDRA are connected, and I trained many of those girls. But your mother— she stood out. She was different. And we fell_ _in love.”_

_Peter smirked. “And then you had babies?”_

_The man chuckled. “Yes, we had you. Your mother had read somewhere that ‘Peter’ meant stone, and she wanted you to grow up to be tough and unshakeable. So that’s what we named you.”_

_“Oh. What’s your name, then?” The man paused for a minute, confused, then said, “I don’t remember. They brainwash me. I can start to remember after a few days, but only the things that HYDRA_ _let me.”_

_Peter, who knew all about the HYDRA brainwashings, tried to steer the topic towards something happier. “What should I call you, then?”_

_The man smiled softly, “I’d love it if you could call me dad.”_

* * *

Bucky was having problems. He’d been out of HYDRA for two years already, but being back in Siberia, underground, and in a dark, stuffy space didn’t do his mental health any good. Neither did the fact that this was the place where he had left his son, Peter. Two years ago, HYDRA had reported him as dead after he and Steve had fallen into the Potomac River. And here he was, dead man, walking.

Or rather, standing in a corner, waiting for Tony’s signal that all the groups of two heroes each were in their designated positions and ready to “gun down those HYDRA bitches,” according to Clint.

Natasha was pressed up to the wall of the bunker next to him and noticed his distress.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Bucky replied hesitantly.

Natasha raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“Fine,” Bucky sighed. “I’m scared. I’m scared that I’m back here again.” Bucky paused and continued so quietly that Natasha barely heard, “And I’m scared for Peter. What if they’ve killed him? What if they’ve turned him into--” Bucky’s voice broke.

“What if they’ve turned him into something like you or me,” Natasha finished, just as quietly.

The couple shared a moment of silence before Natasha pulled Bucky close and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “It’s gonna be okay. Peter’s tough, remember? You trained him, he’ll be fine.” Natasha paused, then continued with a smirk on her face, “As for you, you really aren’t that bad.”

Suddenly, their comms crackled to life and the incredibly annoying voice of Tony “Genius—Billionaire—Playboy—Philanthropist” Stark was in everyone’s ears. _”Hey,_ _lovebirds, if we’re all done with the therapy session here, we’re ready to go in. Cap, situation?”_

Steve responded, _“_ _This_ _i_ s _a pretty small base, but it’s one of the most important to HYDRA. This one has all their crucial information, including weapon blueprints and designs, genetic engineering data, etcetera. There should be a few hundred guards and agents, and all of them are extremely deadly. Remember your job. Kill everyone, leave no survivors.”_

Tony added, “ _Stay safe, guys, and watch each other’s backs. Keep comms in at all times, and don’t hesitate to use your SOS mechanism if you need to. Also, Rogers, nice speech and all, but did you really just say ‘etcetera’ out loud?”_

Rhodey sighed, and with a simple, “ _Tony, shut the everloving fuck up and focus,”_ the team started their mission.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh bois and girls BUCKLE UP CUZ WE ARE READY FOR SOME FEEEEELSSS

_Peter was eleven now._

_He had already trained with his father for five years, which meant it was time for his first mission._

_Which meant that it was time for his first brainwashing. Now, Peter knew all about the brainwashings. He had seen his father be dragged away when they got too familiar and the feelings started to show, he had heard him scream as the agents had read those ruinous words. He had seen his father be led back to the cell they shared as a completely different person, eyes blank and vacant, and words harsh. And now it was Peter’s turn._

_Peter put on the new armor he had been given. It looked exactly like his father’s, just smaller._

_Guards arrived to escort Peter to the room where he would be washed. He gulped nervously as the cell door ground open and he was prodded forward. He walked, or rather, was pushed, through a long titanium-grey corridor and came to a stop in front of a white door being guarded by two agents. The agents escorting Peter exchanged some words with those guarding the door, and the door slowly creaked open._

_The room was honestly quite simple. There was the chair for brainwashing in the center, and a small table next to it._

_Peter was forced into the chair and his arms were strapped to the armrests with some sort of vibranium restraint, as Peter was now strong enough to break through normal bonds._

_The door banged open again, and Zemo, that complete bitch, came strutting in. Wearing an ugly, twisted smirk, he gave the order to begin._

_The metal circle above the chair rotated so that Peter’s head was trapped inside._

_An agent that Peter had long since dubbed “Beefy” due to the sheer size of his arms picked up a black leather-bound book with a silver star embossed on the cover. The pages crackled as he opened the book, and slowly spoke:_

_“одиннадцать.”_

_Peter felt a cold and tingly sensation wash over his body, and a chill ran up his spine. “паук.” The sensation started to seep into his brain, and Peter could feel it start to break into his memories. Peter started thrashing and trying to resist._

_“заброшенный.”_

_He was hit with a sudden burst of pain, like a wave rolling over him. Peter started jerking in the chair, and the tight restraints locking his arms onto the armrests cut into his skin. His fingernails pressed into his palms so hard that he drew blood._

_“Шесть.”_

_He couldn’t hold back his screams anymore. They ripped out of his throat, and Peter didn’t even bother trying to stop it._

_“Зима.”_

_Though Peter had only been screaming for fifteen seconds or so, his throat was already raw. He had used all the air in his lungs but was not able to take more in, because he couldn’t stop his screaming for long enough to replenish his lungs with air._

_“Сумерки.” His head felt like it was going to explode, it hurt so fucking much. It was on fire yet freezing at the same time, and Peter could feel some of his memories fading away while he desperately tried to hold on to them, to no avail._

_“Задумчивый.” His happy memories started evaporating._

_“Камень.”_

_Peter felt his consciousness start to slip away too until the chair sent another wave of pain rolling over him._

_“Яд.”_

_There were no more happy memories left to hold on to. Peter’s eyes turned blank, and now it was just pain. Physical pain._

_“Завял.”_

_With the last word, Peter couldn’t feel anymore. The metal circle retracted, the restraints were removed, and Peter stood up robotically._

_Zemo walked up in front of him and spoke, in Russian, “Soldier?”_

_Peter’s blank eyes focused in on Zemo’s face and responded, “Ready to comply.”_

* * *

_Peter was fourteen now. He was now known as the formidable Winter Spider, who at 120 kills, was completing missions at an astonishing rate. Zemo was very pleased with this development and was starting to think that Peter would be far more successful than his father._

_Peter was currently sitting on the ground in his cell when a man in a suit and tie walked in, bruised, beat-up, and incredibly bloody. He was sporting an incredibly fake sympathetic expression, ill-fitting glasses, and a SHIELD badge that identified him as Jasper Sitwell._

Ah _, Peter thought,_ He’s one of the spies on the inside.

_Sitwell adjusted his glasses and said, slowly, “Spider, your father has been killed in action. You will now have to train harder to pick up the mantle that he had left behind.”_

_Peter couldn’t breathe. His brain hadn’t registered anything after the words “your father has been killed.” It seemed only yesterday that he had met his father, only yesterday that they had trained and joked together, and it was yesterday that his father had talked to him about his upcoming mission against Captain America, Black Widow, and one of their newfound friends, the Falcon._

_And it was from that moment that Peter swore revenge. He swore that he would kill those troublesome, miserable Avengers slowly. He swore he would make them feel so much pain that they would wish that they hadn’t even touched his father. And most importantly, he swore that he would never, ever, let anyone into his heart again._

* * *

Bucky and Natasha crept into the base and snuck down a (surprisingly) unguarded corridor that would take them down to the level where HYDRA’s most valuable information would be kept. Little did they know, Peter had also been moved there after the whole Potomac incident because HYDRA couldn’t risk losing their last Winter Soldier.

They neared the staircase that would take them down to Peter’s level, and lo and behold, it was so heavily guarded that they could barely see where the stairs began. Bucky and Natasha didn’t even hesitate, pulling out their guns and knives before performing a deadly mixture of stabbing, shooting, and in Natasha’s case, ballet. The guards went down very, very quickly.

Over on the other side of the base, Clint and Steve were not doing as well. Not having the skill of the two most dangerous assassins in HYDRA history, Steve was already cornered, with Clint frantically trying to throw his arrows like darts, as his bow had already broken. If it hadn’t been such a serious situation, Natasha might have laughed, the images her mind was conjuring were quite funny.

Clint was currently screaming into his comm, “ _WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE GUYS WEARING? HOW COME THEY CAN’T JUST DIE LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE? WHAT THE FUCK MY HEARING AIDS ARE FALLING OUT WHAT THE FUCK SOMEONE HELP--_ ”

Through the comms, everybody heard Rhodey sigh, “ _I’ve got it._ ”

Natasha swore Rhodey was the only one on the team with actual brain cells, besides maybe Hope or Pepper.

Creeping down the stairwell in a single file line with Bucky behind her, Natasha’s eyes quickly adjusted to the semidarkness. She saw the tables and tables overflowing with charts and diagrams, and she saw the beds and chairs that resembled a doctor’s office or a lab, and then she saw the cell. Bucky saw the cell too, and as their eyes focused on it, they gasped almost simultaneously.

Lying unconscious in the center of the cell was their long lost son Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this was so short but I had some writers block sorry :( Love you all and thank you for the support :)  
> For those of you who want to know what Peter's words are:  
> eleven - одиннадцать  
> spider - паук  
> abandoned - заброшенный  
> six - шесть  
> winter - зима  
> nightfall - сумерки  
> wistful - задумчивый  
> stone - камень  
> poison - яд  
> wilted - завял


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, an update!  
> Ross is a bitch, and Stark is a bitch back.

Peter opened his eyes and hissed.

He was lying on his back in a bright, white, room, lying on his back on a bed. Peter’s first thought was that those fuckers at HYDRA were operating on him again but then he remembered--

The operation room was dark, not brightly lit. He didn’t get a bed, he got a metal table, and they never bothered putting him to sleep. Peter’s eyes suddenly widened again, and he hissed louder.  _ Seriously though, what was up with the hissing? _

A variety of scenarios were passing through his head, each of which seemed either more gruesome or more unlikely than the first. What were the chances that Peter was lying in a bed in the hospital wing of Avengers tower? Highly unli--

_ Wait. _

Peter’s head whipped towards the wall, where a fucking  _ AVENGERS  _ emblem was imprinted on the wall. How could he have missed that? As Peter’s eyes methodically scanned the room, he noticed that the room had no windows, just a door that locked from the outside. There were no extremely sharp objects, either. A quick glance at his own body revealed a saline drip in his arm. Peter quickly pulled it out and reached to his waist for his knife. Which was gone. He frantically stood up on his shaking legs, stumbled over to the door, and subsequently collapsed. The room suddenly turned blurry around the edges, and the last thing he saw before passing out was the concerned face of his dad. 

_ Wait, that’s not possible-- _

* * *

As it turned out, it was incredibly possible. Bucky had heard from F.R.I.D.A.Y that Peter had pulled his drip out and was trying to leave his room, and he headed to the wing as quickly as possible. 

Walking as fast as possible, multiple thoughts crossed his mind.  _ How the hell is he alive? What happened? Will he even remember me? What did they do to him? _

He suddenly realized he had arrived, and opened the door. The first thing he saw was his son’s eyes locking on his, and then his body collapsing to the floor.

Things really were all going to shit.

* * *

A few hours later, things got even shittier, which, to be honest, Natasha really hadn’t thought possible.

From seeing her son for the first time since his birth, beaten and bloodied, lying in a fucking cage, to watching him collapse after trying to find his way out of the hospital room, to now. Being lectured at by the one and only Thaddeus Ross.

Tuning out his spiel about how “powered individuals were dangerous and needed to be controlled or put down,” and how “your orders were to kill everyone on sight,” etcetera. It was almost like he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was lecturing a room of almost all powered people. 

Sighing, Nat scanned the room. Wanda rolled her eyes, Stark put his head in his hands, Bucky simply glared at the screen, while Steve just had a look of disbelief plastered on his face. Natasha didn’t have enough time to gauge the rest of the room’s expressions before Tony decided he had enough.

“Yeah, yeah, we got the point. We weren’t responsible, we didn’t follow orders, blah blah.”

Secretary Ross responded, “Good. So you understand why we have to take the kid into United Nations custody?”

Wanda spoke up. “No, actually, we don’t. He’s just a kid, he’s safe with us.”

Ross turned red. “But is the world safe from him?” at the looks of incredulity on everyone in the room, Ross plowed forward. “He’s not a kid, he’s a weapon. And until he is safe and in the custody of the UN, he’s a potential threat to everyone around him. It’s not safe for the people to have him be able to roam free.”

Sam snorted. “‘To roam free?’ What the hell, man. He’s not an animal.”

Natasha wondered how big the repercussions would be if she said that she wished he actually dropped dead in the middle of his back-swing.

_ Too late. _ Stark said it.

“You know, I’m starting to wish you actually died in the middle of your back-swing. There’s so much bullshit that I’m starting to wonder if I’m in a meeting room or in the middle of a cattle ranch. We aren’t turning Peter over to you, period. You want him, you go through us. And I’m almost 100% sure that you don’t want to be on the bad side of several powered individuals and trained assassins. Doesn’t matter what HYDRA did to Peter, he’s still family. Capeesh?”

And with that, Tony hung up the call.

_ Well, I guess, Stark’s not that bad. _

Rhodey exhaled. “Well, that just happened.”

“Tony, are you aware that you just hung up Ross, and that he probably hates us even more now?”

“Yeah.”

Bucky, who had been quiet throughout the whole call, finally asked, “So. What now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I would like to start by saying:  
> I'm so so sorry for not updating in such a long time. My life has just been really hectic, with school and everything, I joined a new fandom (AoS, final season out in 2 days!!!) and I just didn't really have the motivation to write anything.  
> I finally forced myself to write this chapter. It's very short, and not up to my own standards, but I felt like I had to give you guys content, and to let you guys know that I am, indeed, alive.  
> I originally started this fic because HYDRA!Peter was always an interesting concept for me, and there weren't many fics about it. I didn't plan anything, just jumped straight into the first chapter with no idea where the plot or characters, or, really, anything would go. But here we are! With a bad, crappy, half assed chapter :)  
> So anyways, if you guys really want an update, or give feedback, or ask questions, my Instagram is @simmonsbiatch. Feel free to poke at me incessantly if you feel like I'm getting lazy.  
> By the way, I probably won't post very often until S7 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is over.  
> Thank you for sticking with me throughout everything so far!  
> (And if I ever do choose to abandon this fic, which is very unlikely, I will notify you guys.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, thanks for checking this really shitty fic out. I usually write only for myself, but I wanted to try posting, so here I am. Feel free to point out any mistakes in the comments, and if you’re confused about anything, I’d love to explain! Love y’all 3000 :)


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